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Acute Mental Health Care

The Acute Mental Health Inpatient Services Academic Clinical Unit (ACU) provides care to people who are experiencing an acute episode of mental illness. If a person is admitted to an acute inpatient unit, it is often because their mental illness is not manageable in a less restrictive setting, such as community-based support.

Conditions we treat

The following list identifies the most common conditions we manage:

depression

schizophrenia

schizo-affective disorder

bipolar disorder

personality disorder.

Accessing the service

Being admitted in an acute mental health inpatient unit can be a stressful time for individual, carers and families. Typically an individual will be admitted to an inpatient unit after being assessed by one of our community mental health teams or after having presented to the emergency department.

If you would like any information about how to access inpatient services please contact us:

Phone: 1300 MH CALL (1300 64 22 55)

Fax: 3078 2120

The telephone triage service is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals who will undertake timely triage and initial assessment of any individual needing mental health assistance from one of our qualified staff. All initial assessments conducted by the triage team will assess the risk and immediate mental health needs of the individual.

Therapies we provide

Interventions for the treatment of mental health presentations in adults fall into two main categories:

The Acute Mental Health Inpatient Services ACU will reference established international clinical guidelines to ensure that care is based on contemporary scientific evidence. This is aimed to reduce variation in practice.

What we need to know

Consumers have the right to comprehensive and integrated mental health care that meets their individual needs and achieves the best possible outcome in terms of their recovery. It is important that at the time of admission, acute inpatient services have access to current information about the individual, their carer, family or support person.

The clinical team need to know:

accurate contact information for the consumer’s carer or support person

current clinical assessment and risk assessments from referring team

previous medical history and current medication

whether the individual been placed under the Mental Health Act 2016

if the individual has any children

if the individual speaks another language, and needs assistance in communicating their needs.